Thistle and Thorn
by TAKA-TAKA-TAKA
Summary: Rose struggles to hold the realm together in the Overlord's absence. She has little time and even less patience for anything that stands in her way- she has a Cataclysm to escape, an Empire to build, and, most importantly, a most peculiar baby to raise.
1. Chapter 1

Rose shifted on the vast marble throne, trying to find a comfortable position. She winced and put a hand to her belly, tried and failed to suppress a yawn.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Could you say that again, please? I wasn't paying attention."

"Ah..." The peasant blinked up at her, wringing his cap in his hands. "Yes, your Ladyship. I was saying that the Evernight forest is moving into our fields again, ma'am. The bloody Elves- pardoning my language, ma'am- say by rights everything within Evernight belongs to them, and some of 'em have even started filchin' from our farms!"

She heaved a sigh, rubbing her temples.

"I'll speak with their king," she said wearily.

"Beggin' your pardon, ma'am, but maybe you could...ask the Master to go knock some sense into them, maybe?"

"The Master is away," she said coolly. "He's...dealing with problems elsewhere in our realm."

"When is he gonna be back, ma'am? Please, them Elves keep filchin', and it ain't right!"

"I- soon. He will return soon."

"But when, ma'am?"

She gave him a chilly look.

"Enough questions. He will return when his work elsewhere is finished, and the concerns of a few peasants will not move him, do I make myself clear?"

The peasant wilted.

"Yes, your Ladyship."

"I will deal with the Elves." She waved a hand, dismissive. "Now. Leave. Minions, escort him out of the tower." She raised her voice as they led him away. "Safely, thank you!"

She sighed, exhausted, slumped in the throne. The baby in her belly kicked, and she straightened with a wince.

"Mistress Rose."

"What?" She looked up. "Oh, Gnarl. Yes, did you need something?"

The wizened creature shuffled towards her, raising bushy grey brows.

"Mistress, how long do you think you can keep this up?"

She put a hand to her belly, looking away.

"As long as it takes," she said quietly. "Until he comes home again."

"Mistress...it's past time you faced the fact that the Master may not ever return. For all we know, he could be dead, or worse."

"Don't say that!" She snapped, shoulders flinching. "He's alive. I know he is. And he'll find a way to come back to us. He's strong, and he's clever. He's alive, gods damn you!"

"Mistress." He laid a withered claw over her hand. "Listen to yourself. You've always been practical, you know that we have to plan for the future. For the future of your spawn."

"I miss him," she said softly. "I miss him so much, Gnarl."

"We all do, Mistress. Even I was rather fond of him. But that can't change the fact that he is...gone, and that his absence leaves us with a great deal of trouble."

"Well." She pulled her hand away, composing herself. "Alright. You're right. What do you advise we do?"

"I would suggest a tactical withdrawal, Mistress, back to the Tower and the region of Spree. The Dwarven lands and Evernight are simply too much for us to hold right now, to say nothing of the Ruborian desert."

"I...I don't know." Rose shook her head. "It feels a little bit like betraying him, after he fought so hard-"

"We cannot control our territory without him, Mistress. We have to build our strength here. And...think of it this way. It will give your spawn something to conquer when it comes of age."

Rose stared down her nose at him, holding her belly protectively.

"I don't want my child to be a fighter," she snapped. "My child deserves peace."

"Mistress, peace has never been the destiny of the Overlords."

"My child is not your Overlord!" Rose hissed. "I've tried to tell you that again and again!"

"But Mistress, I can mold it, raise it to be truly great! If you would allow me to-"

"I most certainly will not, you devious old back-stabber! You betrayed the Master at the drop of a hat, don't think I've forgotten that!"

"Oh, can't we get beyond that, Mistress?" He smiled slyly up at her. "I know I have."

Rose sniffed, dismissive.

"My child will have the best tutors the treasury can afford. And friends, and servants, not just the minions."

"As you wish, Mistress. But know that blood will tell, in the end." He stiffened suddenly, eyes narrowing. "Mistress! There's an intruder in the tower!"

"What?" She struggled to rise, sliding awkwardly off the throne. "Who?"

"Ah, good, we've caught him. Sneaky bastard." He looked up at her. "Do you want to have him thrown into the dungeons for later, Mistress, or would you like the Reds to roast him?"

"I- what? Who is this intruder?"

"An elf, Mistress. Slippery fellow. Shall I have the minions bring him to you?"

"Yes, I've been needing to speak to the Elves, and this one might do nicely."

"As you wish, Mistress."

She heard a commotion on the stairs, turned to see a mass of minions boiling up from below, sweeping a tall, blonde-haired elf along with them.

"Ugh!" he snapped, swatting at them. "Unhand me, you nasty little things! Get off!"

"Elf," Rose said sharply.

He stopped short and looked up at her, petulant.

"What?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I just came for the tour. I heard this tower was pretty great, and I just...wanted to check it out. See the sights, you know."

"Really." Rose said dryly.

"For you, Mistress!"

One of the minions bounded to her side, handing her a jewel-studded crown worth a king's ransom. She held it up to the light, smirking.

"Was this one of the 'sights'?"

"Uh...that's not mine."

"No, it certainly is not. Whatever was it doing in your possession?"

"Uh...I didn't have it. That creepy little guy stuck it in my pack. Honest."

"I doubt there's anything honest about you, elf." She stared at him, tapping a finger against her lips. "Gnarl, do we still have those upright cages?"

"Of course, Mistress! I'd never throw something like that out."

"Lock him up and put the cage in the throne room. He can serve as a warning for future thieves."

"Hey, come on, you can't do that!"

"Oh, whyever not?" Rose gave him an acrid smile. "Congratulations, elf, you've just become our permanent house guest. I do hope you enjoy your stay."

-x-

The delegation of elves knelt before the throne, dressed in greens and golds.

"Lady Rose," their king said hollowly, light flashing dazzingly from his crown. "How may we serve?"

"Rise," Rose said, drumming her fingers. "You know very well why I've called you here, Avrin."

"Ah." The elf king stood, flicked his eyes once to the cage, frowning. "Does it have to do with _that_?"

"With- oh." She glanced at the blonde elf, who rolled his eyes, leaning back against the bars of his cage. "No, although he is one of your own. We caught him trying to raid the treasury, which was just adorable, so we decided to keep him. Would you like him back?"

Avrin made a sour face.

"_That_ one does not belong with us, your Ladyship. You may do as you please with him."

"Hmm." She glanced at the cage again, curious. "Very well. No, I've brought you here to discuss your intrusion into Spree."

"Ah, your ladyship, is that what the peasants told you?"

"How would you put it, then, my lord?"

"I would say that we have been trying to reclaim the ancestral lands that rightfully belong to us."

"By stealing sheep and pumpkins? Really, Avrin, has the proud Elvish race really fallen so low?" Rose stared down at him, haughty. "You will cease your raids on the human farms that border Evernight. You will control your forest, or we will burn it back, am I perfectly clear?"

"My lady, we cannot agree to this."

"You'd prefer to burn with your forest?"

Avrin met her eyes, unflinching.

"Evernight is mostly swamp, your ladyship. We have little food, and no cultivatable land. If our people are to survive, we need room to expand."

"Perhaps we do not care whether or not you survive."

His dour face grew even longer.

"Well, then, your ladyship. If it comes to it, we will fight."

"Because it went so well for you the first time," Rose said incredulously. "Really, do you think you could stand against the Overlord?"

"I think we could stand against his armies, yes. Do you wish to test us, your ladyship?"

_He knows_, Rose thought. _He's going to call my bluff._ She stared at him, thinking furiously.

"I am confident that we can stand against your forces, your ladyship. Are you so confident that you can stand against _us_?"

"Bold words from the last of a dying race." Rose tapped her fingers against the stone. "However...I think it may be possible for us to find a solution."

"Thank you, your ladyship. I would not want it to come to war."

"No, I dare say that you would not. What I propose is this- settle your people in the Dwarven lands."

"The Dwarven lands? But your ladyship, the soil there is poor and rocky, and it's full of dangerous creatures."

"So? So is Evernight."

"My people were slaves there, your ladyship. Some of them may not want to return. They have many terrible memories associated with that place."

"Well, what better way to soothe those memories than by claiming the land of your old enemies?"

"My lady, I am not sure if we can come to an agreement-"

Rose held up a hand, stopping him.

"I'm not finished. We will also agree to withdraw our forces from your land and remain outside your borders. Permanently. In exchange, the elves will leave Spree untouched."

"I..." Avrin paused, thinking it over. "Very well, your ladyship. That is agreeable."

"Good. I've drafted an agreement, which we will both sign."

Gnarl hobbled up to the elf king, making a face, and handed him a quill and parchment that bore the Overlord's seal. The elf took it gingerly, signed it with a flourish, and handed it back. Gnarl took the paper between two claws, giving the elf a look of extreme distaste, and hobbled back to Rose.

"Good evening to you, your Ladyship." Avrin and his attendants bowed, courtly. "Thank you."

Gnarl watched them go, sneering.

"Elves," he growled. "Arrogant, useless bunch of overgrown gnomes. It's enough to make me want to bite one, never mind the awful taste."

"Gnarl, this was your idea," Rose reminded him.

"Yes, Mistress, but diplomacy is just so...distasteful." She plucked the parchment from his claws, and he frowned. "Would you like me to burn that?"

"You can't burn this! It's a formal agreement between two powers!"

"As you wish, Mistress." He shrugged, gloomy. "You never let me have any fun."

"The elves will move away from our borders into the Dwarven lands, which means that Spree will be more secure. And in the event that the dwarves attempt to reclaim their lands, the elves will be there to deal with them. If that ever happens, we can move back in to pick up the pieces."

"Clever, Mistress," Gnarl said begrudgingly. "I can see why the Master favored you."

"With the elves dealt with, that just leaves the Ruborians and Heaven's Peak. Perhaps there's a way to set them at odds with one another."

"Hmm." He grinned devilishly. "I'm sure I can think of something, Mistress."

"Very good. I'll leave that in your claws, then."

She turned to the caged elf, thoughtful.

"So. Elf. What was that all about?"

He looked up, startled. He'd been sitting on the floor of the cage, inspecting the bolts at the bottom. Rose sighed, shook her head.

"Don't bother trying, elf. Those bolts have been welded into place. Not even Jewel the Thief was able to escape that cage."

"You know," he said, looking petulantly up at her, "I do have a name."

"Oh?"

"It's Florian," he whined. "Florian Greenheart. So you stop calling me 'elf'!"

"Very well, elf. Again, what was that about? There are so few elves left, I would have thought that they would jump at the chance to rescue one of their own."

"Eh." Florian rose fluidly and leaned on the bars. "Avrin and the rest of those old assholes don't like me all that much."

"Whyever not?" Rose asked him. "Could it have been your charming personality?"

"Wow, thanks." Florian rolled his eyes. "No. They don't like me 'cause I didn't fight the dwarves with them when they stole the statue of the Goddess. Among...other reasons. But mostly because of that."

"Oh? So you're a coward as well as a thief. Lovely."

"Who cares if it's cowardly, so long as it's smart? We were seriously outnumbered. I wasn't about to risk my neck for some dusty old statue."

"You know, you're not really much of an elf."

"Lady, I take that as a compliment." He wrinkled his nose at her. "You're not much of an evil overlord. Where's your husband at, anyways?"

Rose snorted.

"He's not my husband," she said. "And it's none of your business."

"Fine, suit yourself." He sighed, bouncing against the bars. "Man, you don't know what it's like, anyway, being an elf. It sucks."

"Being a magical creature that is loved and respected almost universally? It must be hard."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. We always had to conform, you know? Do what Oberon and the elders told us to do. They never let me have any fun. You wouldn't understand, man."

"You might be surprised by that."

"It's like Oberon, he thought he was everybody's father, right? And his word was, like, literally law."

"I know something of strict fathers."

"Yeah, your old man was that wizard, wasn't he?" He shrugged. "Doesn't seem so bad. He was what, rich and powerful? You probably grew up pretty comfortably. Bet you've never even gone hungry a day in your life."

"He was a hard-handed man with a very narrow definition of right and wrong," Rose said coolly. "My sister had the worst of it, but he was never exactly what you could call 'kind'."

"Huh." He stuck his arms through the bars, leaning on his elbows. "So that's why you took up with tall, dark, and scary, right? Was it like, some kind of rebellion against daddy?"

Rose gave him a cold stare. He just grinned back at her in response, fidgeting idly with the bars.

"It was a great deal more complicated than that, thank you. I wouldn't expect an elf, of all people, to understand mortal love."

"Haha! Love! That's-" He hesitated. "Oh, hang on, you're serious."

Rose sighed and stood with difficulty, irritated.

"I have better things to do than this, elf, and your voice is giving me a headache." She paused at the foot of the stairs to her tower, considering him. He was irritating, to be sure, but starving him would be much too cruel. "I'll have one of the minions bring you something to eat."


	2. Chapter 2

As a rule, Rose did not like dealing with Ruborians. They were, for the most part, an upright people, honest to a fault. They were the sort who kept their word...but they also expected her to do the same, which was often inconvenient.

"Lady Rose, I regret to disturb you in your...delicate condition." The Ruborian ambassador bowed, courteous. "But I am afraid that I must discuss the matter of the Dwarven lands."

She stared at him, eyes hard. He had the same sharp-angled face as her lost lover, the same almond eyes. Her heart ached, but she did her best to ignore it.

"What of them?" she snapped.

"Ah...my lady, if you will recall, your...husband?...granted my people the Dwarven lands, and in exchange, we assisted him in his elimination of the Thieve's Guild in Ruboria."

She was too tired to bother correcting him.

"You agreed, my lady, to honor that alliance...but now our agents tell us that the Elves are moving into the Dwarven lands. Their king informs us that you have formalized an agreement with him, granting him the rights!"

Rose rubbed her temples. She was getting sloppy, she thought wearily. She had entirely forgotten about the agreement with Ruboria.

"My Lord has authorized me to make decisions in his absence," Rose said, tired. "I have decided that the Elves have the most legitimate claim to the Dwarven lands, and-"

"Legitimate?" the ambassador cried, affronted. "My lady, we had an agreement with your Lord!"

"Do you dare question his decision?" Rose snapped.

The ambassador met her eyes, back straight.

"Bring him here, my lady, so that I may discuss it with him."

"He is away-"

"You are lying."

Her eyes flashed, temper flaring.

"How _dare_ you accuse me of-"

"Where is your husband, my lady?"

"For the last time, he is _not_ my husband," she said tightly.

The ambassador flicked a glance to her belly, up to her face. She stared him in the eyes, haughty, refusing to feel ashamed.

"Nevertheless, my lady, I must speak with him...unless, of course, you are unable to produce him."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"We have heard rumors in Ruboria, your ladyship." He stared at her, evaluating. "I am sorry for your loss."

She wanted to hit him.

"Again, I don't know what you're going on about. The Overlord is traveling, Ruborian. I am simply overseeing the Tower in his absence."

He didn't believe her, she could tell. He stared at her, swept his gaze down to her stomach.

"Ruboria wishes, above all, to avoid a war," he said slowly. "But if it comes to it, your ladyship, we will fight for what was promised us."

"Then you will lose."

"You have much more to lose, Lady Rose, than we do," he said, with a significant nod towards her belly.

She put her hands over her unborn child, felt it kick. Fury arced through her veins, kindling her blood.

"Are you _threatening_ me?" she hissed.

"I am promising."

She pointed a finger, trying to keep her hand from shaking.

"_Get out_."

He bowed again.

"As you wish, my lady. It's your decision now, after all."

She stared after his retreating back, clenching her fists until her nails dug into her palms.

"Gnarl!" she snapped.

"Yes, Mistress?" he asked her, hurrying to her side.

"Get the greens. Send them after that absolute, that bloody...gods damned wanker! That son of a bitch had the nerve to _threaten_ my baby!"

He knew she was angry now- it wasn't often that he heard her curse like that.

"I want them to cut him down where he stands, I want..." she stopped, breathing hard, calming herself. "Although...this may be an opportunity."

"Hmm..." Gnarl grinned up at her. _This_ was a side of Rose he loved. "We do have a few robes from the Silent Order lying around..."

"That old cult from Heaven's Peak?"

"Exactly, Mistress."

"Clever. Give the robes to the greens, then. They're not half bad when it comes to disguises."

"Right away, Mistress."

Gnarl scuttled away. Rose sighed, leaning against the throne. Her back ached, her feet hurt, and above all, she was so very, very tired.

"He's not coming back, is he? The Overlord."

Florian leaned on the bars, giving her a sympathetic look. Rose sighed.

"I...I don't know," she admitted. "I don't think so."

"That's rough." He sniffed. "So, what, he got you knocked up and skipped town, huh? Classy guy."

"I- what? No, it's not like that at all."

"Really," he said, sounding dubious.

She gave him an icy look.

"If you must know, elf, the Master happens to be trapped in a hellscape from which there is apparently no escape."

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Florian said snidely.

"Do you remember when the Abyss portals opened up a few months ago? He was the one who closed them. He _saved_ your people, Florian."

"And promptly turned around and subjugated us. He was nothing more than glorified magical bully."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Rose said tightly. "You didn't know him. He could be so gentle to me, and-"

She closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand."

"Huh." Florian sat, cross-legged, leaned back and stared up at her. "You really loved the guy."

"Of course I do." Rose smiled, looking down at her belly. "I'm carrying his child, do you really think I'd go through all this if I didn't love him?"

"I just assumed you got stuck with it."

"Don't be ridiculous. I know my herbs, I didn't _have_ to carry it. I _wanted_ this baby."

Truth be told, she hadn't been sure at first if she'd wanted to keep it. There had still been so much left to do, and she worried that a child would only get in the way- and, worse, that she wouldn't be a proper mother. But he had been so _happy_ when she'd told him, so _excited_. And then of course he'd gone off and had Giblet make a tiny chainmail onesie and a rattle shaped like a mace, and then, well, that was that.

Rose looked away, her face twisting, remembering.

"This is the only part of him I have left."

"Hey, whoa, shit, lady, don't cry."

"I don't know why I'm telling you all this," she said, wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry. I guess I just need someone to talk to."

"Well," he said sardonically, leaning back. "I'm a captive audience."

She smiled, amused despite herself.

"Do you have family, el- Florian? Children?"

"Ha!" He smirked. "Not bloody likely."

"Oh?"

He gave her an arch look.

"I'm...not the marrying type, if you get my drift."

"You don't have to marry to have a child, Florian."

He just stared at her, arcing a brow. Her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.

"Oh! Oh...you...prefer the company of men, do you?"

"You could put it that way."

"Is that...is that why the other elves didn't want you back?"

"Nah, they don't give a shit about stuff like that." He looked away, ears drooping. "I...I can't..."

He mumbled something. She leaned closer.

"You can't what?"

"I can't do magic," he muttered.

"What?" she said, confused. "But you're an elf!"

"Ugh, unfortunately." He rolled his eyes. "I wish I'd been born a human, or, like, even a dwarf. Nobody cares if a human isn't magical. But if you're an elf, and you can't do magic, everybody thinks you're broken. Oberon himself spent years trying to teach me. I can't even magic up a light breeze."

Rose remembered long nights with her father in her youth, spent trying not to nod off. She remembered the way he'd rap her knuckles when she mispronounced a spell, the vast hurt of his disappointment when he'd realized she hadn't inherited his wizardry.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Eh, that's just the way it is, I guess. It's not like there's a way to make a mundane magical."

"That's not strictly true," Rose murmured, ever the scholar.

She wasn't looked at him, missed the way his ears perked.

"Oh?" he asked nonchalantly.

"My- the Overlord was just a human hero, once. No magic to speak of."

"Oh yeah?" Florian asked, struggling to keep the excitement out of his voice. "So what happened? He made a deal with, like, dark gods or something?"

"He used the Tower Heart," Rose said absently, remembering the way it had pulsed and beat before she'd damaged it in the frantic battle against the creature that had worn her father's skin.

"What's that?"

"It's an artifact. It is...was...the source of his power." She smiled. Sometimes, she imagined she could hear it beat at night. It sounded like his heartbeat.

"So, it's like, his actual heart now or something?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous. It's in the depths of the Tower. It powers our engines, and gives us heat."

"Neat."

"Why are you so interested in it, anyway?"

He shrugged.

"Lady, what else have I got to do besides talk to you?"

Rose smiled.

"True," she admitted.

She stood with difficulty, stood regarding the elf for a moment.

"Thank you," she said at last. "For listening."

He watched her go, eyes narrowed.

"Thank _you_, Mistress Rose" he said softly, leaning back, eyes narrowed. "You've given me a lot to think about."

-x-

She couldn't sleep.

Rose lay on her side in the too-big bed, staring out the iron-latticed windows. The baby kicked and stirred within her, restless.

She closed her eyes, remembering the last time she'd seen her Lord.

"_You smell like sulfur," she'd said, wrinkling her nose._

_He'd pulled back, vast and terrible in black armor, cloak stained with soot._

_"__Sorry, love. Hellish abyss, you know how it goes." He'd turned her chin up, looked down at her with those strange, brilliant eyes. "Are you doing alright?"_

_"__The little one's been kicking a lot lately." She'd said fondly. "And I have an almost insatiable craving for rare meat, which I don't think is normal in the least. But aside from that, the baby's been no trouble at all."_

_"__Well, just wait until he's born."_

_"__Oh, believe me, I can hardly wait."_

_He'd taken off the massive helmet, then, had leaned down to kiss her, needing her._

_"__Come here," he'd said, voice rough._

_She'd laughed. Standing on tiptoes, she could just reach high enough to put her arms around his neck._

_"__What?" she'd asked, laughing. "You still want me, even when I'm like this?"_

_"__I want you in every way, little Rose."_

_And then he'd picked her up, baby and all, carried her into their bedroom._

Her cheeks were wet. She sat up and wiped her eyes, squaring her shoulders. There was no sense in crying, she told herself firmly. It wasn't going to bring him back. Gnarl was right, for once. She had to think of the future.

She glanced at the pile of papers on her desk and sighed. Ordinarily she loved going through lists and charts, but tonight she just wasn't in the mood. She pulled on a long robe and found herself drifting into her garden.

It was lovely at night, moonlight spilling over the white marble fountains, dark-loving flowers spreading their delicate petals to drink in the starlight. She sat, trailing her fingers in the water, letting its placid chatter soothe her soul.

He'd had it built for her, shortly after she'd first come to the Tower. She'd filled it with bright flowers and subtle poisons, had spent long hours alone in it, tending her plants. Her Lord hadn't known foxglove from hensbane, and wasn't fond of flowers as a rule, but he'd sat on the marble bench and watched her as she worked, listening to her go on and on about the proper cultivation of nightshade. She smiled, remembering.

She wished she'd realized sooner that she loved him.

She sat back on the marble. The trickle of the fountain, the moon on the soft leaves, the gentle peace of the garden, all worked together to ease her heart. Rose yawned, finally feeling as though she could sleep.

An explosion rocked the Tower. She sat up with a start, hands going protectively to her belly.

"What on earth?"

Had the Ruborian ambassador escaped the greens? Had the desert folk decided to move against her so soon?"

She went to a shelf in the garden, carefully picked up a bandoleer of poisoned knives. She was too big to wear it properly, she realized, so after a second's thought she just slung it around her neck.

She listened at the foot of the stairs, heard voices echoing up. She frowned, listening intently.

"No, no, no!" Gnarl was saying. "Grubby, what have I told you? Light the fuse, and then _get out of the way_!"

"Sorry, boss! But Grubby did get into Netherworld, boss!"

"Don't make so much noise, you'll wake the Mistress! We can't have her poking around until everything's ready!"

She made her way down the stairs with no little difficulty, wincing. She'd always prided herself on her poise and elegance, but she'd had to admit to herself that in the past few months she'd startled to waddle.

As she went deeper into the bowels of the fortress, she heard the sounds of digging, the ring of metal on stone. The air felt very hot, and she could see a hellish glow from somewhere up ahead.

There was some sort of construction project in the very depths of the tower. Scaffolding surrounded a vast hole. She leaned over, felt a rush of hot, musty air. She could hear minions gibbering and arguing below, see the pulse of firelight.

There was an elevator leading into the depths. She climbed onto it and wound the crank, trying not to look down.

"Be careful!" Gnarl was shouting. "I don't want minion bits all over everything again!"

"Gnarl." She stepped off the platform, gave him a glare that practically pinned him to the wall behind him. "What are you doing down here?"

"Oh!" He stepped back, flustered. "Mistress Rose! I could ask you the same question!"

"What's going on? What are you building?"

"Apologies, Mistress...but it's...it's not ready yet. No need to worry yourself about it."

She just stared at him, brow arced. He quailed.

"Mistress...we can't stay here for long in the Tower without a Master," he said apologetically. "And, in any event, this Tower, terrible though it is, sticks out like a sore thumb. I thought it might be wise to build something a little...safer. A place where your spawn could lurk and grow."

"And you didn't think to consult me about this?"

"Er..."

"I've no desire to raise my child like some sort of mole! My child will need sunshine, and, and, blue skies, and green, growing things!"

Gnarl made a face, disgusted.

"With all due respect, Mistress Rose, your spawn is the spawn of an Overlord. You want to raise it into some pretty, petted thing, and that just isn't going to bloody happen!"

"I just want him to be happy, damn you, not shuffled off to some dark place underground!"

"If you really want it to be happy, Mistress, then you should listen to me!"

"Oh, really." Rose gave him an icy look. "And what do you know about what babies need?"

"I've raised up a minionling or two in my time-"

"Gnarl, you creatures _eat_ the weaker minionlings! Babies need, oh, bottles, and blankets, and pretty things, and books, and maybe animals to pet and play with-"

"We have a whole dungeon full of animals, Mistress!"

"I mean, animals that won't _maul_ him! Bunnies, ducklings, that kind of thing!" Rose shook her head. "I'm starting to realize that a Dark Tower is no place to raise a baby!"

"Oh, dear." Gnarl put his claws over her hands. "Please, Mistress Rose. Don't be so upset. I was only trying to help. Of course we'll do all that we can to serve you. We _are_ minions, after all."

She gave him a suspicious look. He lowered his ears, looking contrite.

"Very well," she said at last. "Just...no more digging, alright? I'm thinking, actually, of moving all of us to a little castle somewhere. Someplace quaint."

Gnarl hid his disgust with a monumental effort.

"As you wish, Mistress. We can discuss it later." He beckoned. "Rasp, Scuttle! Help the Mistress back to her chambers!"

He glared after the platform as it rose, creaking.

"'No place to raise a baby'?" he repeated. "Daft female!"

Grubby scratched his head beneath his helmet.

"We stop working, boss?"

"No, of course we're not going to stop working, you rock-brained idiot!"

"But Mistress say-"

"The Mistress doesn't know what her spawn needs. _I_ do. Keep digging. I'll seal this area off so she can't get in again."

Grubby swallowed.

"But, boss, maybe we get hungry, working in here."

"Well, then you had better dig quickly, then, hadn't you?"


	3. Chapter 3

The delegation from Heaven's Peak stormed into the throne room in a swirl of skirts, scattering minions like pigeons.

"Lady Rose!" A tall, slender woman snapped. "Where's your Lord? I owe him a good slap or two."

Rose hid a smile.

"Hello, Mathilde. Hello, ladies. I'm afraid the Overlord is away on business."

"He told you to say that, didn't he?" Mathilde peered at her, suspicious.

"He asked me to tell you how terribly sorry he was for rescuing you all from a hellish dimension full of deamons and wraiths and other horrible things, though."

"Hmph! Rescued, my arse."

Gnarl was conspicuously absent. Rose hid another smile.

"Regardless, you've all been doing a bang-up job running things in Heaven's Peak."

"We have, haven't we? You know what they say, never send a man to do a woman's job."

"They say that, do they?"

"Oh! That reminds me!" Mathilde gestured, and a brow-beaten-looking man scurried forward, laden down with packages. "The ladies and I have knocked together a few things for you. Just a couple of little things, really, things that we thought you might be able to use. With the baby on the way and all."

Rose opened a package, pulled out a little knit jumper. It was, she noted, an extremely bright yellow.

"Oh, how thoughtful!" she cried. She opened another. "Oh, how darling! Little booties!"

She realized she was cooing, cleared her throat and set the gifts aside.

"Thank you, ladies. That was very kind of you." She folded her hands over her belly. "Now, what can I help you with?"

"It's about the Dwarven lands, my Lady."

Rose suppressed a sigh.

"Let me guess. You think you have the rightful claim to it, is that correct?"

"Well, it does border Heaven's Peak."

"I'm afraid I've already entered into an agreement with the Elves, granting them the rights to the territory."

"Hmph. Them elves, they're run by a king, ain't they?" Mathilde groused.

"Yes, but they do worship the Mother Goddess," Rose reminded her. "Why does Heaven's Peak wish to control the Dwarven lands? I would have thought your city had enough to deal with, cleaning up after the Plague and the Overlords."

"That's just it, my Lady," Mathilde said, looking embarrassed. "We need money. I know you've not had the chance to be out and about much these past few months, but half of Heaven's Peak is still in ruins."

"Hmm. The Elves are mainly interested in the Dwarven lands for its fields, and I doubt that any of them would be keen to go underground again. Perhaps we could work out some kind of arrangement with them- Heaven's Peak could work the mines, and in exchange, the Elves would receive a small portion of the gold you bring up."

"But, my Lady, by rights the Dwarven lands should belong to us!"

Rose rubbed her temples, exhausted.

"You're the third person I've had in here inside a week who's said that. I'm sorry, but we'll have to find a way to reach a compromise."

Mathilde glanced around at her retinue and nodded.

"Alright. We'll have a chat about it, and we'll get back to you."

"I'm sure that we can work something out."

"Thank you for your time, Lady Rose. And do bring your little one up to Heaven's Peak some day, will you? We'll show her how a proper city's run."

"I'll do that."

Gnarl crept out from behind the throne after they'd gone, sneering.

"You see, this is what happens when women start running things," he muttered.

"They maintain a stable government, rebuild civic centers torn down by a giant, and reestablish trade routes after a magical plague devastates their city?" Rose asked him.

He snorted, picked up the jumper by the tips of his claws.

"Yellow!" he snapped. "Hardly the right color for an Overlord! It should be crimson, or black, maybe!"

"I'm getting tired of reminding you, Gnarl. My child is not the Overlord."

"Yes, yes, as you wish, Mistress."

Rose sighed. She had a couple of farmers to deal with later in the afternoon- something about a wife, or a sheep, or possibly both at once. She rubbed at her temples.

"Bring me a table and my papers. I don't want to go all the way back upstairs. Oh, and I could use a spot of tea, and a bit of lunch."

"Of course, Mistress."

"Don't forget the cream again."

"Yes, Mistress, I won't."

He hobbled away, muttering to himself.

"He's quite the odd little thing, isn't he?" Florian observed.

Rose snorted.

"Said the pot to the kettle."

"Hey, I'm pleasantly _quirky, _lady. Maybe eccentric, even. Him, though, that thing's just weird." He leaned on the bars, curious. "How old is he, anyways?"

"I have no idea."

"You know...he's gonna keep trying to turn your kid into the Overlord."

"Yes, I know." Rose sighed, shuffling her papers. "I can handle him."

"Really? You don't think he'll be whispering in your kid's ear whenever you're not around? Telling him how much fun it would be to go out and smash something?"

"Hmm." Rose looked up at him, thoughtful. "You're more perceptive than you look."

"Not sure if that's a compliment or not, but thanks, I guess." The elf leaned back, swinging idly from the bars. "He's totally plotting something. I can tell."

"Mistress," Gnarl gasped, puffing up the steps. "Your tea. And sandwiches."

"Thank you." She took a sip of tea, regarding him over the rim. "Gnarl, I've found a lovely little castle just beyond Spree that I'm thinking of moving us into."

"Oh, Mistress?"

"It's a wonderful little place, just full of climbing vines and flowers. It's like something out of a fairy tale."

"Oh." Gnarl gave her what he hoped was a convincing smile. "That sounds...nice...Mistress. Very...nice."

"I'm so glad you agree."

He hobbled away into the depths of the castle, shaking his head. Rose stared after him, drumming her fingers.

"Yes, he's absolutely up to no good. I mean, he's _always_ up to no good, of course, but you know what I mean."

She took a bite of the sandwich. Florian made a face.

"You sure you should be eating that?" he asked. "That meat looks pretty raw."

"Are you concerned about me?" She smiled, more than a little touched. "Don't be. This honestly isn't even one of the strangest things this baby's made me crave."

He looked away, grimacing. Elves were, as a rule, mostly vegetarian, and when they did eat meat it wasn't so rare it could get up and run away. Rose bent her head over her papers, quill scratching.

"Huh." She heard Florian say. And then, "Gross."

She looked up, turned towards him. The motion saved her life.

A dart whistled past her shoulder, embedded itself in the throne behind her.

"Minions!" she screamed.

A hooded figure scrambled behind a pillar. The minions boiled after it, hooting, dragged the intruder before her, threw him on the marble floor and piled on top of him, restraining him.

"Mff!" he said, glaring up at her. "Mmm, mmm, mff!"

His mouth was stitched shut. Rose pulled the dart from the throne and sniffed it, dropped it hastily on the desk.

"Sandthorn!" She gasped. "Poison."

Gnarl hurried to her side.

"Mistress, are you quite alright?"

"I'm fine. No thanks to this absolute bastard." She nodded to the dart. "Somebody take care of this, will you? Don't let it touch your skin."

A minion took the dart nervously, scurried away. She heard a clatter, and a sharp yelp, sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Yet another mess to clean up."

She stood, eyes hard, looking down at the assassin.

"A member of the Silent Order, hmm? I thought we'd wiped you all out."

He just glared up at her in response. Rose smiled.

"It seems our friend here has a little difficulty talking." She gestured to a minion. "Help him out, will you?"

The minion grinned, ripped a claw through the stitches. The man screamed, blood splattering the marble floor. Rose stared down at him.

"Who sent you? Why did you try to kill me?"

"Go to the hells," he mumbled thickly, through ruined lips.

"Mistress asked you a question," a minion hissed, running a claw over his neck. "Don't be naughty."

"Don't waste my time," Rose snapped. "Why did the Order send you?"

He just glared at her mutely in response. She felt her lip curl.

"Take him to the dungeons," she growled. "I'll deal with him personally. Bring me my needles."

"Mistress, are you sure that's wise?" Gnarl asked her worriedly. "In your condition-"

"What would be _wise_, Gnarl, is doing what I asked you to do!"

"Ah...yes. Right away, Mistress."

The minions carried the struggling man away, chuckling. Rose shook out a map on her desk, irritable.

"Bastard made me spill my tea," she snapped.

She looked up, realized that Florian was watching her, eyes wide.

"What?" she snapped.

"You're..." he coughed, cleared his throat. "You're kind of scary, lady."

"I'm an Overlord's Mistress, and someone just tried to kill me, and my baby." She smiled, suddenly feral. "I'm not scary, I'm _terrifying_."

-x-

The assassin was stretched out awaiting her arrival, lashed to a rack. The minions laid her gear on a table beside him with wary respect. Many of them were gathered at the cell door, standing on each other's shoulders, craning their necks, eager to watch their Mistress work.

"I wanted to do this the easy way," Rose told him. She uncorked a vial carefully, dipped a long needle into the dark liquid. "But in the end, this is just as efficient. It's simply a lot more painful."

The man eyed the liquid beading on the tip of the needle, gave her a defiant look.

"Nothing you do to me can make me talk, you bitch."

"Oh, how rude." Rose drew the needle down his inner arm, just hard enough to scratch. "I'm afraid I'll have to teach you a lesson in manners."

The man howled, a line of fire blooming down his arm, poison spreading dark tendrils through his skin, boiling through every cell it came in contact with. Rose made a note in a book.

"Hmm. Interesting reaction. It appears that you're allergic to bloodroot, which will only serve to heighten the pain, I'm afraid."

"Go to the hells!"

"So very, very rude."

She slid a series of needles into the skin of his arm and left them there, sat back to examine her work. He shrieked as the skin around the needle boiled, blisters forming and bursting on his arm.

"I really don't take any pleasure in this," Rose lied, selecting another vial. "Let's try deathshead moss, shall we? Unless, of course, you'd like to tell me why you tried to kill me."

He bared his teeth at her. She trailed a line of pinpricks down his chest, blood welling black in their wake. The man howled and bucked against his restraints. She made another note in her book.

"You know, the fascinating thing about poisons is, everyone reacts to them a little bit differently. It all depends on your age, your sex, your species, even, sometimes, what you've had to eat that day." She stoppered the vial, pulled out another. "For example, sandthorn, which is what you tried to use on me today, is not just a poison, it's a powerful abortifacient." She slid the needle under the skin of his inner thigh. "It also can render men permanently sterile. Essentially, it targets the tissues of a man's stones in particular, breaking them down."

He started to scream again. Rose smiled.

"Yes, just like that. Shall we go on? I also know that sandthorn sap is rather expensive, as it comes all the way from the deserts of Ruboria. I want to know who sent you, and why. Was it the Order? Was it the Ruborians?"

The man was whimpering now, eyes rolling. Rose waiting, drumming her fingers.

"I have plenty of other poisons I'd love to try."

"Please," he begged her.

"Are you ready to talk?"

"Please, I can't, she'll kill me!"

"Who will kill you?"

He clamped his lips shut, shaking. Rose sighed, picked up another vial.

"I'm prepared to do this all night," she told him. "And when I get tired, I have longer-acting poisons that will keep you screaming for days."

"Please...please, no more."

She leaned over him as best she could manage, holding the needle poised above his eye.

"Who will kill you?"

He shivered. She arced an eyebrow.

"This is blindroot. Ocular contact with it causes severe damage to the eye."

He shook his head, terrified. She flicked her wrist, and a drop splashed down onto his eyelid. He made a high-pitched noise of pain, hurling himself against the ropes as his eye began to bleed.

"Shall I continue?" Rose asked him.

"She'll...she'll kill me!"

"Unfortunately for you, _I_ will not. I'll simply continue to hurt you until you tell me what I want to know. Shall I take your other eye?"

"No, please- no more, please! There was a lady who came to us, to the Order. Said she had a way for us to take revenge on the Overlord. That's all I know, honest!"

"Do you know her name?"

"No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't remember!"

"What did she look like?"

His face took on an almost raptured look.

"She's...she's beautiful. Curves like a demon, and a face like an angel. All in black lace, with-"

"Velvet!" Rose exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, that's right, that's her name!"

"That absolute _bitch_." She turned back to the assassin. "Where is she hiding?"

"In the sewers under Heaven's Peak."

"How appropriate, she's down there with the rest of the filth." She jabbed a needle into his jugular, and he relaxed. "Sleep, now. You've earned your rest."

She stood upright with a wince, hands shaking. She'd known her sister would have skittered off to some dark corner of the world after the Second Overlord's defeat. She just hadn't realized that corner would be so very close to home.

"Have him draw me a map when he's awake and functional again," she snapped. "I want to ferret that bitch out of wherever she's been skulking. I'm finally going to make her pay."


	4. Chapter 4

Velvet had proven easy to locate and capture. Almost too easy.

Rose knew better than to send the minions in after her alone...the poor dears would end up wandering around lost in the sewers for years that way, eating gods-knew-what. She'd sent them in with a hand-picked team from Spree- hard-eyed men, and a few women, too, just in case. She was all too familiar with her sister's effect on the opposite sex.

They'd found her reclining in bed with two fallen knights. She'd yawned, given them a smoldering look from beneath painted lids.

_"Oh_, _how typical," _She'd said. _"I suppose my sister sent you. She always has to ruin my fun._"

And then she'd pulled on a tiny silken dressing gown that served almost no purpose whatsoever and had come along without even a word of protest.

Rose stared at her sister through the bars of her cell. Velvet yawned and stretched, a motion that pushed her supple body against the silk.

"Hello again, Rose. It's nice to see you again, though I can't say much for my accommodations." Velvet smirked. "You're looking...well, a bit worse than usual, even. A bit like a sow, really."

"And you're still dressing like a harlot, I see."

"Jealousy does not become you, big sister.

"You should put on some clothes. You'll catch your death of cold."

"Yes, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Velvet stretched again, wiggled, poised artfully on the edge of the hard dungeon bed. "Where's mister metal cheeks at, anyways? Shouldn't he be down here...dealing with me?"

Rose gave her a hard look. She didn't know, then. The Ruborians and the Elves had some inkling of what had happened to the Overlord...but then again, Velvet had never been particularly quick on the uptake.

"The Overlord is away. Unfortunately for you, that leaves you entirely in my hands."

"Oh, did he finally get tired of your nagging?"

Rose ignored the slight, staring down at her sister.

"Why did you try to kill me and my baby?"

Velvet's eyes flashed.

"By rights, that baby should be _mine_," she snapped. "You're a _terrible_ Mistress, Rose. I saw the Tower on my way in- all white marble and pretty statues. Happy little peasants on all sides. Disgusting."

"Who's jealous, now, Velvet?" Rose drummed her fingers, smirking. "You always were a sore loser, weren't you? Mother gave you everything you ever asked for, and yet you always had to have what _I _had."

"Oh, are you still upset about that business with Sir William?" Velvet's perfect lips curled in a smile, and she laid a slender hand on her pale breast. "Honestly, darling, it's not my fault if he wasn't interested in some frowsy little bookworm who trailed after him like a sick puppy."

"Really, Velvet, you did me a favor. He turned out to be just as vacuous and stupid as you."

Velvet glared at her.

"Oh, Rose, you think you're so bloody _smart_, just because father favored you." She smirked. "If only he could see you now, with a bellyful of an Overlord's baby. What do you think he'd make of you these days?"

"He didn't _favor_ me," Rose snapped. "He made me work twice as hard as he ever made you work, you- you lazy slut!"

"Oh, we're down to petty name-calling, now, are we?" Velvet arced a brow. "Fine. Call me lazy, call me a slut, but at least people like me, Rose. At least _I'm_ not an uptight, narrow-minded, self-righteous _bitch_."

"People like me!" Rose snapped, taken aback. "And I am _not_ uptight!"

"No, darling, they tolerate you." Velvet stood and leaned against the bars, smiling like a cat. "Take the women from Heaven's Peak, for example."

"Oh, do shut up, Velvet."

"They brought you little presents and things for the bastard in your belly, didn't they?"

"How do you know that?"

"Oh, because they told me. We're regular pals, Mathilde and I. She's just hedging her bets between us." Velvet shrugged. "I can't fault her for that., even if I am obviously the superior choice."

"You're lying."

"Little booties? A twee little yellow jumper?" Velvet smirked. "Do you really believe that the women in Heaven's Gate don't know what's going on? They knew about the Silent Order...fostered them, even. Mathilde said something along the lines of 'needing more men who won't talk back', I believe. My assassin walked right into the Tower with them, hidden in their midst!"

Rose stared at her sister, disbelieving. Velvet sneered.

"You never were that good a judge of character, Rose."

"I saw straight through _you_."

"Oh, like that's hard to do." Velvet smirked. "Let tall, dark, and heavily-armored know I'm here, won't you? I imagine he's getting a bit lonely these days. He could probably use a bit of warming up after _your_ frigid attempts with him."

Rose gave her a wry look.

"You do understand that this is _his_ baby, don't you?"

"Oh, anybody can get knocked up, Rose, that's hardly difficult," Velvet said airily. "Putting up with you, though, I imagine that gets unbearable after a while."

"What should we do with her, Mistress?" Gnarl asked.

She turned, startled, looking down at him. She should have known he'd come down to leer.

"I've been just dying to give the old Iron Maiden a good airing out. Ooh, and we have a most interesting array of pincers...unless, of course, Mistress, you'd like to deal with her personally?"

Rose considered for a second, shook her head. Velvet was a murderous, treacherous tart, but she was still, after all, her sister.

"Keep her locked up," she said. "Just...let her rot down here, with all the other nasty things."

She swept away, Gnarl scuttling in her wake. Velvet watched her go, eyes narrowed, hiding a sneer.

Rose was so _easy_, she thought. It had always been such a simple matter to rile her up...one simply had to know which levers to pull.

The minions gawped at her, squabbling among themselves to get closer to the bars. Velvet pulled the blankets of the bed over herself, feigning sleep. She felt inside a hidden pocket of her robe, fingering a small lead vial. She was a little surprised that Rose hadn't bothered to have her searched- but then again, her sister had always underestimated her.

She'd picked up some tricks during their training with their father, though she had never let him realize the extent of her knowledge. Velvet had realized early on that life was a lot easier if people just assumed that she was as stupid as she was pretty. She'd been listening when their father had instructed Rose in the finer points of caustic chemicals and vicious poisons, even though she'd spent all her time doodling naughty pictures in the margins of his scrolls.

The minions trailed away at last, bored. Velvet sat up, glanced through the bars, pulled a silver compact from her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello, sweetheart," she purred. "Did you miss me?"

An image twisted in the mirror, resolved into a tall, hard-faced knight. His chilly eyes swept over her, dismissive.

"Velvet. Are you in?"

"Sweetie, that's my line."

"I don't have time for your games, Velvet," the fallen knight snapped.

"Oh, Raleigh, you're no fun." She pouted. "Yes, I'm in the Tower. My stupid sister practically invited me in."

"And the Overlord?"

"I haven't seen him yet. I'm sure he'll be down soon to see me, though." She smirked.

"Interesting," The fallen knight said. "You haven't seen him at all?"

"I haven't seen anybody but Rose and all these gross little goblins."

"Hmm. She didn't search you, then?"

"Ha! No, I think she's a little bit distracted with all her stupid baby stuff." She dangled the vial, grinning. "I've still got it."

"Careful with that! Don't you know how dangerous it is?"

"Please. I helped you _make_ this stuff, remember?"

"True," Raleigh said grudgingly. "You've done well, Velvet."

"Of course I have." Velvet tossed her hair, haughty. "I'm _me_, after all. I got her all stirred up, too, just like you wanted. Told her how Mathilde and the rest of those bitches knew all about us." She grinned. "She's _really_ mad."

"Well done. Soon, Heaven's Peak will be in chaos, and then we can take control."

"I'm getting bored," Velvet sighed. "When can I get out of here?"

"Not yet. We need to know more about the Overlord's whereabouts."

"I thought the whole point of this was to draw him out so you guys could kill him!"

"Yes...but it really is strange that you haven't seen him at _all_. Talk to one of his minions. Find out what's going on."

"Ugh." Velvet made a face. "Gross. But...for you, cutie buns, sure, I'll try." She angled the mirror down just a touch, smirking. "Maybe when I get back we can discuss my...reward."

Raleigh scowled.

"Just do your job."

The fallen knight vanished. Velvet pouted, admiring her reflection in the glass.

Soon, Raleigh and the Silent Order would make their move. Heaven's Peak would be hers- no more skulking around in the sewers, and no more making nice with self-righteous biddies. Velvet grinned, lying back against the bed. She'd clap Rose in chains, and order her about. She'd make her brat into a whipping boy, or maybe have it fed to Raleigh's dogs. She'd make her sister watch.

She could hardly wait.

-x-

Rose was angry now, well and truly angry. She stomped about the throne room, Gnarl scuttling nervously after her.

"Mistress, please, try to calm down! Please! Think of your spawn!"

"Why do you think I'm so...so bloody _pissed_, Gnarl?" Rose scowled. "Those...those _bitches_ from Heaven's Peak, they had the nerve to give me gifts and coo over my baby, when they knew what Velvet was planning, all along!"

"Would you like a cup of tea, Mistress?" Gnarl asked her. "Maybe you should go have a lie-down."

"I don't want a cup of tea!"

Gnarl stared at her, startled.

_ Oh, by all that's rank and fetid_, he thought. _This is worse than I thought._

"I want to tear that city down, stone by stone, and force every last one of those _cockroaches_ out into the open! I'm going to have them cut up and fed to a troll!" She glared at him, hair in disarray. "Gnarl! Do we have a troll in the dungeon?"

"Yes, of course, Mistress."

"Good, keep him hungry, then."

"You know, Mistress...we also do have a Beholder or two down below."

"What do I want with a Beholder?" Rose snapped. "I want something that will tear them limb from limb, not goggle at them!"

"You did say something about wanting to tear Heaven's Peak apart, Mistress," Gnarl said patiently. "A capitol idea, if I ever heard one. And Beholders, as everyone knows, come from Ruboria. Khan had several with him, when he attacked the city."

"Oh." Rose stopped her pacing, mollified. "You're right, of course. If we turn a few loose in the city without a master to control them..."

"It will cause the most delightful chaos and carnage!"

"Hmm. A shame, really. I don't really want to level Heaven's Peak. It would be so...messy." She flushed. "It was a turn of phrase."

She was usually much more rational than this, she thought. This baby was making her act so strangely, sometimes. It was quite unlike her. She raked her hair back into place, flustered.

"Still, though," she said. "I can't have Mathilde thinking she can play both sides. They must be...reprimanded. We'll send the Beholders in, and then we'll destroy the gate behind them."

"As you wish, Mistress."

He hobbled away.

"Oh, and I'll take that tea once you're through!"

Rose sat at her desk, drumming her fingers as she thought. She heard a jingle of bells, looked down into the yellow eyes of the Overlord's jester.

"Quaver?" she asked. "Do you think I'm...'uptight'?"

He gave her a wary look.

"I don't know quite what you mean, Mistress."

"I mean...you know. Tight-laced. Strict. Persnickety, even, maybe?"

He goggled at her, sensing a trap.

"Er...I..."

A trio of greens bounded into the throne room, hissing excitedly. He scurried off, relieved.

"Misssstressss!"

The greens crouched in front of Rose, tails lashing excitedly. One of them scuttled forward, grinning, clutching something in its claws.

"It is done, Mistresss!"

"You've killed the Ruborian ambassador, then?"

"Yessss."

"And you made sure that his retinue saw nothing but assassins in the robes of the Silent Order?"

"Yessss." It jerked a thumb back at the other minions "They wanted to eat horses, but me say no, come back to misresss."

"You've done very well." She leaned over, frowning. "What's that you've got there?"

"For you!" It handed her a small, brightly-wrapped package. She read the label.

"What is E.L.F.?" she asked. "Where did you find this?"

"By portal, Mistressss!"

The package began to hiss. She shoved it back into the minion's claws, eyes widening.

"Get that out of here!"

The minion scrabbled back. The package burst, green clouds billowing through the throne room. Rose gagged, coughing, stumbling back, as the thick poison clouds rolled towards her.

"Hurry, Mistress!" A minion tugged at her hand.

The greens were struggling to contain the poison. In his cage, Florian gasped, choking.

"Oh, damn it," Rose snapped.

She didn't want to have to clean up after a dead elf, she thought...and besides, she'd grown a bit fond of the odd fellow. She took a deep breath, plunged into the cloud. The minion screeched in horror, grabbing for her. She took a silver key from her sleeve and unlocked the cage, seized his wrist with a surprisingly strong grip and pulled him out. He staggered after her, following her up the stairs.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Lady, you saved me!"

Rose frowned.

"Don't get the wrong idea, elf. I just didn't want you to make a mess of everything."

"Still. Thanks. You're not so bad." He sat on a bench, looking around, still coughing. "Shit. Did I hear you say 'E.L.F'?"

"That was what the tag said, yes."

"Ugh. Those assholes."

"You know them?"

"Yeah, E.L.F. It stands for Elf Liberation Front."

"Wait...so essentially, they're called 'Elf Elf'?"

"Yeah, they're not the best at naming things."

Her hands were shaking. This was the second time, she realized, that someone had tried to kill her in as many days.

"I'll put a kettle on," she said faintly. "Would you like some tea?"

She set up a pair of cups without waiting for a response, trying to still her shaking hands.

Florian wandered about the room, taking it in. All told, he thought, it didn't look particularly...menacing. The great bed was draped in a lacey canopy, and books and charts were stacked neatly on every available surface. A distillery kit burbled quietly to itself in a corner, virulent-looking liquids boiling and sloshing inside glass beakers. The room looked more like it belonged to some half-mad wizard or scholar rather than to the Mistress of an Overlord.

There was a rack of weapons on the far wall, strangely out of place in the cozy room. He wandered casually over to them, eyeing a long sword.

"So...you're just...alone up here with me," he said. "You, me, and a bunch of spiky things."

She paused, pouring the tea, looking at him. After a moment, she smiled.

"I'm not alone, elf."

He felt yellow eyes staring at him, saw something move in the fire, realized a pair of red minions were curled up in the hearth. He swallowed hard. The sword, on second thought, looked awfully heavy. He tugged at the iron latticework over the windows, and Rose sighed.

"We're a hundred feet up, Florian. Sit. Take some tea."

He sat, fidgeting.

"You could just let me go, you know."

Rose smiled at him over her teacup.

"But then who would I have to talk to? Gnarl? The minions? They're terrible conversationalists."

He sighed and took a sip.

"I'm going stir crazy in that cage, Rose. Come on."

"Now, what sort of example would that set?" Rose asked archly.

She had saved his life, but that didn't mean that she was kind, or even reasonable. He stared at her. He was going to go insane if she locked him up again, he thought, feeling desperate. Elves weren't meant to be kept in cages. He hadn't felt the touch of the sun in what felt like months.

"Lady, look, I'm begging you, okay?"

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that." She passed him a jar. "Jam with your scones?"

He whipped the knife from the jar and moved like lightning, holding it to her throat.

"You're going to let me go, lady. First, you're gonna tell me where my gear is, and then-"

"Oh, Florian." Rose sounded more disappointed than afraid. "I'd expected more from you."

"Shut up! I don't want to hurt you, but I will, okay?"

She pushed the hand that held the knife away from her throat. He couldn't stop her, he realized. He stared down at his unresisting hands, watched the knife clatter out of his fingers.

"Really, Florian, were you going to take me hostage with a butter knife?" Rose gave him a wry smile. "And we were starting to get on so well."

He swayed, feeling dizzy.

"I'm not stupid, you know." She sat, sipped at her tea. "Of course you'd try to escape. And no one escapes from the Dark Tower. I can't let you ruin our perfect record, now, can I?"

He stared at her.

"Remind me to never drink your tea again, lady," he croaked.

He felt himself fall, stared up at her. He saw her beckon to the minions.

"Take him back and lock him up."

Rose sighed, watching the minions carry the elf away. That technically made it three times that someone had attempted to harm her. Granted, she'd expected the elf to try something, which was why she'd taken the precaution of drugging his tea. She'd expected him to do more on the order of trying to dive out the window, though, rather than put a knife to her throat. That had been more than a little surprising.

She put a hand to her belly as the baby kicked, troubled. What would happen when her child was born? Children didn't know to avoid mysterious, brightly-wrapped packages or sweets from strangers. The minions had the best...or, well, given what they were, the worst of intentions, but they were unreliable and easily distracted. It would be so easy, she realized, for someone to snatch her baby away, or hurt him, or worse.

She didn't know where she would go, but she knew that couldn't stay here.


	5. Chapter 5

Velvet woke and stretched, flipped open her compact.

"Hello, sweetie," she purred. "Did you miss me?"

Raleigh was smiling, for once, a hard slash in his cruel face. She quite liked it.

"Heaven's Peak is in ruins."

He panned the mirror so she could see. Smoke was rising from the rubble, blackened bodies lying twisted in the wreckage. Velvet could hear bells ringing, the sounds of distant screaming. She whistled.

"Oh, wow. She was _really_ mad, wasn't she?"

"She sent in Beholders. I honestly didn't expect that, but we've managed to get them under control. Unfortunately, the governess of Heaven's Peak and her little...knitting circle...were among the casualties."

"What a shame."

"Of course, the Silent Order is only too happy to help restore the peace."

"Of course." Velvet twirled a strand of hair about her finger, smirking. "I have some very interesting news on my end. It seems that tall, dark, and spiky is out of the picture."

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to one of his little thingies. Apparently he's trapped in some sort of Infernal Abyss. Poor Rose has been quite beside herself without someone to nag at all day."

"That would explain a lot," Raleigh said slowly. "Interesting. It appears that the Dark Tower needs a new master."

"I'd just love to redecorate the place," Velvet said. "I'll start by burning all those awful flowers."

"And you're sure she's quite alone? Just Rose, and the minions?"

"She's all alone, and unguarded. The little things seem quite disorganized without somebody to kick them around."

"Well done. We'll move tonight. I'll contact you when we're ready."

Velvet preened at the praise, gave him a smouldering look.

"I'll be waiting."

-x-

"Gnarl!"

A red collided with him, frantic. He backpedaled, brushing sparks from his cloak.

"Calm down, Ember, you're going to set the whole place ablaze!"

"Sorry, Gnarl." The red crouched, smoking. "It's Mistress, Gnarl."

"What about the Mistress?"

"Mistress...she's gone crazy! Mistress is throwing things, talking to herself, putting lots of stuff into a big bag-"

"Oh, hells." Gnarl hurried to the throne room as fast as his old bones would take him.

Rose was making her way carefully down the stairs, a pack on her back, holding a walking stick. He swore again.

"Mistress Rose!" He scurried to her side. "Don't you think you should be getting some rest?"

"Leave me alone, Gnarl," she snapped. "I've made up my mind."

"Mistress, if you want to go on a walk, I suppose that's alright. The minions can come with you, carry your things-"

"I'm leaving, Gnarl. Don't try to stop me."

"Mistress, please! Think of your spawn, you should be resting, not gallivanting about!"

"I _am _thinking of my baby," Rose snapped. "A Dark Tower is no place to raise a child. It isn't safe."

"But, Mistress-"

"Get out of my way," she growled, knuckles white around her staff. "And don't you dare follow me."

Gnarl scrambled aside, glaring at her retreating back.

"Oh, by all that's dark and unholy, you impossible woman! You're making a mistake!"

She didn't reply, shoulders set beneath her pack.

"You're taking your child away from its birthright, Rose! It will never be happy unless it's with us!"

Rose didn't look back at him, stepped onto the portal and sank out of sight. Gnarl hissed.

"Stupid, stubborn woman!" He looked around at the assembled minions, picked out a couple of greens. "You three, go after her! Follow her, don't let her see you. Keep her safe until the child is born. After that, I want you to bring it to me."

"Yessss!" One of the greens bobbed enthusiastically. "What about the Mistressss?"

"After we have the child, I don't give a damn what happens to her. Let her rot, I don't care. Now, go on, get after her!"

The Greens skittered away, hissing excitedly.

"What are we going to do now, Gnarl?" Quaver asked him, sounding piteous. "We can't stay in the Tower without the Master."

"You're quite right, for once." Gnarl looked around and sighed. "I'll quite miss this place. Ah, look! There's still a stain on the marble over there, from when the Master smashed that pesky baron. Mistress Rose scrubbed and scrubbed, but she could never quite get all the blood out. Memories."

Minions were creeping into the throne room, yellow eyes watching him worriedly. Sometimes, it was a burden, being the only one with any brains.

"Right, you lot," he snapped. "Grubby's just about finished the portal into the Netherworld. We're going below."

"Ah," Quaver sighed happily. "Home sweet home. I can practically smell the sulfur."

"Pack up your hats and whatnot, and double time it underground."

"Hey!" The poncy elf was waving at him. "You gonna let me out of here, or what?"

Gnarl ignored him.

"Are you, like, gonna leave me to starve?"

The minions were scurrying to and fro now, like rats aboard a sinking ship. Florian sighed and flopped back on the floor of the cage.

"Assholes," he muttered.

The little bastards worked swiftly, and soon the throne room was deserted. A banner fluttered forlornly down from the rafters. Florian waited for as long as he could stand it, drew the silver key from his tunic.

He hadn't wanted to hurt Rose, not really. As a rule, he preferred letting other people do that kind of dirty work. But she'd been so distracted by the knife at her throat that she hadn't even noticed when he'd pick-pocketed the key from her sleeve.

He fitted the lock into the keyhole, holding his breath as he turned it, listening intently for the scrabble of claws on stone. The lock clicked, and he eased the door open and crept out, silent as a cat.

-x-

The compact blazed with sudden heat. Velvet swore, struggling to open it.

"Raleigh," she snapped, holding it between the blankets. "There's better ways to get my attention, you know. Have you tried something, I don't know, that vibrates, maybe?"

"It's time." She could see the setting sun behind him, the hard men who rode beside him. "Let us in."

"I'm _always_ happy to let _you_ in, Raleigh."

The mirror went blank. Velvet made a face, inspecting herself in the mirror. She was lovely, she thought smugly, as always. Perhaps, after Raleigh had the Tower, he'd be a little less...distracted.

She closed the compact, drew the vial from her breast. There'd been quite a bit of commotion earlier, minions racing around as though their ears were on fire, but now there wasn't any sign of the creatures. She knelt, carefully screwed the lid off, poured the caustic chemical over the hinges of the door.

She kicked it open. It made a most satisfying noise as it clattered against the wall. She looked around, realizing that perhaps she should have been a bit more careful, but she could hear nothing more than the moans of a few unfortunate peasants in the other cells.

She made her way through the deserted Tower. The emptiness was more than a little unsettling. She wondered where all the minions had gone, realized that she didn't honestly care.

She stood in front of the portal, recited a complicated spell in a mocking sing-song. Portals had been one of the very first things her father had tried to teach her. She'd never let on quite how much she'd learned.

Raleigh and his men rose from the dark liquid depths, crouched, swords at the ready. Velvet yawned, sitting on the throne.

"Oh, don't bother," she said boredly. "There's nobody here."

"What are you talking about?"

Velvet pushed a vase of flowers over, taking a childish glee in the sound it made as it shattered on the floor. The knights flinched.

"They're gone," she said. "Everybody, I'm afraid. Even my rotten sister and her stupid baby. I _so_ wanted to torture her."

"You're sure?"

Velvet shrugged.

"I've looked everywhere. Those weird little goblins have vanished."

His brow creased.

"I don't like this," he growled. "Let's get the Heart and get out."

"Aw, but I was just getting settled in!" Velvet cried. "This throne suits me, don't you think?"

"Lead us to the Tower Heart, Velvet. Now."

"Oh, you're no fun at all."

She stalked away, her hips swaying, looking over her shoulder to see if he was watching her. He was ignoring her, looking around the Tower, his sword held ready. Velvet sniffed, peeved, and tossed her hair.

"Hurry up!" She demanded. "It's this way."

Raleigh gave her a chilly look, annoyed. Everything about the girl irritated him- her voice, her manner of dress, even the way she moved.

He remembered when he'd first come to Heaven's Peak as a young knight, when he'd first seen Velvet and her somber sister. He'd watched Rose grow from a skinny, quiet teenager to a stern, scholarly woman who swept about the city with a permanent scowl on her pretty face. Unlike every other man in the kingdoms (or so he'd thought at the time), he'd been more interested in her than in her spoiled, mincing sister.

And then the news had come that Rose had been taken up by the Overlord. He'd ridden out at once, like a madman...and then he'd spent a frustrating couple of weeks trying to figure out how to get into the impregnable Tower, harried constantly by the Overlord's demons. At last he'd resorted to banging on the Tower wall itself and shouting, not knowing what else to do.

Rose had poked her head out of a window, high up in the Tower, locked away, he'd thought, like some sort of fairy-tale princess.

"What's all this racket?" she'd shouted down.

"My Lady!" He'd cried, his chest swelling with pride. "I've come to save you!"

"Save me?" She'd stared down at him, puzzled. "Whatever from?"

"I..." He'd grown tongue-tied as he'd realized that things weren't going according to the script. "I...from the Overlord, of course!"

"Oh?" She'd said. "Well, thank you, sir knight, whatever your name is, but I'm quite alright."

"But he's kidnapped you, my lady, and-"

"Kidnapped me? Oh no, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that you've misunderstood. He didn't kidnap me at all. I invited myself here, actually."

She'd turned, as if listening to someone, and then she'd _giggled._ He'd stared up at her, astonished. He'd never even heard her laugh before. She'd turned back to him, humor in her voice.

"I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, Sir Knight, but as you can see, I'm quite unharmed." She'd waved a hand at him. "I'm sure there's other 'maidens' that need rescuing. Go bother them, why don't you?"

And then the window had slammed closed, and he'd ridden back to Heaven's Peak in mute astonishment. To his surprise- to everyone's surprise, really- the Overlord and Rose had seemed to get along quite well. And then, when, months later, the news had spread that she was with child, it had become clear to him that they'd gotten along very, very well indeed.

"It's just down here," Velvet simpered, her voice breaking into his reverie. "Follow me."

He pushed past her brusquely, and she made an affronted noise. He ignored her, staring down at the Tower Heart. For a moment, he forgot his irritation, forgot about Rose, forgot everything, as the brilliant Heart filled his vision, surging and glowing with power.

"Oh, _Goddess_," he heard a voice say.

Raleigh looked down, startled. A slender elf stood in front of the Heart, touching it, no doubt getting his prints all over it. Raleigh cleared his throat, annoyed.

"And who in the hells," he demanded, "Are you?"

-x-

Florian had found his gear tucked away in a chest in the treasury. He'd stuffed his pack with a handful of gold and gems, had been briefly tempted to take more...but there were greater treasures waiting in the Tower. He'd slunk through the shadows, constantly alert for the sound of pursuit, until at last he came to a chamber at one of the very deepest reaches of the Tower, looked down and beheld the Heart.

"Oh, Goddess," he whispered.

He could feel magic crackling over his skin, tingling through his marrow. Rose had said that the Tower Heart was the source of the Overlord's power. If he, Florian Greenheart, took that power for his own...then he would finally know what it felt like to wield magic. He would no longer be an outsider. And maybe, he could finally go home- and rub his new found power in the face of all those smug bastards who never thought he'd amount to anything.

He glanced around. The chamber was deserted. He leaped down, landing nimbly beside the Heart. Its warmth radiated over him, and he shivered. It pulsed, beckoning. All he had to do was reach out and take it.

Florian stretched out a trembling hand, laid it on the surface of the Heart, felt it beating beneath his touch. He felt it opening to him, seeking a master, felt magic coursing through his blood.

"Oh, _Goddess_!" He said again. "Oh, _this_ is what it feels like!"

He laughed aloud, and the Heart shuddered beneath his hand. He stopped short, looking down at it.

"What?"

Someone cleared their throat behind him. He whirled, found himself staring a a dozen knights. He took a step back, startled.

"And _who _the hells," a tall, stern-faced man asked him, "Are you?"

"What are you doing in _our _Tower?" a dark-haired woman snapped, pushing her way through the men.

There was a sharp crack behind him, and the man went pale.

"_No,"_ he gasped.

Florian turned back to the Tower Heart. He gaped at it, shocked. Dark cracks were spreading across its surface, and it began to shake violently, emitting a high-pitched keening. He backed away, felt the magic draining from his body.

"No, no, no!"

Florian took a step towards the Heart, and then the walls of the Tower began to shake. He scrambled to the stairs, pushing his way through the startled knights.

_ "Move!" _ he snapped.

He stopped at the top of the stairs, took one last look at the Tower Heart. It rose higher, shivering, then, abruptly stopped. He hesitated, and then it exploded in a rush of violent magic. The woman shrieked, and the knights cried out, masonry falling around them. He ran, as fast as his legs would carry him. The Tower was shattering around him. He could hear the shouts of the knights behind him, ignored them, kept running. Up ahead, he saw daylight through a break in the thick stone wall. He flung himself into the light, saw a confusion of blue sky and lightning as he tumbled from the Tower.

He landed hard on green grass, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He stared up at the shuddering Tower, struggling to breath. The broken Heart burst through the roof of the Tower, shards orbiting each in a frantic swarm. Its light grew brighter, brighter, until for an instant there was a second sun.

He forced himself to his feet, gasping, forced himself to turn away and run. A terrific explosion shattered through the sky, leveling trees, knocking him to his knees.

"Oh, hells," he said.

He picked himself up slowly. He was bruised and scratched, and he thought he'd probably cracked a rib, but he was alive. He started to laugh aloud, heard a crack of thunder. He looked up as a thick rain began to fall, great viscous globs falling from the sky. One splashed down in front of him, instantly withering the grass.

"Shit!"

He looked around, frantic. Up ahead, he saw a narrow cave mouth. He hurried to it, not caring what might be living inside. There were a few small bones in the corner, a heap of brush, but whatever had made its home in the cave had evidently fled, frightened by the tumult. He crouched inside, exhausted, and waited for the noxious rain to stop.

-x-

Velvet crawled out from the rubble, coughing, wiped a smear of blood from her cheek. She wasn't sure, she thought unsteadily, whether it was hers or somebody else's. Her head was spinning, and her knee crumpled when she tried to stand. She hissed in pain, dragging herself up onto a slab of dark stone. She looked around dizzily, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

She was sitting on the shattered side of the great Tower. The crown loomed above her like a bad omen, masonry crumbling off as she watched, stupefied. Virulent blue ooze stretched around her in a vast moat, and the sky was an eerie grey-green, crackling with lightning.

Spree was burning. The forests had been leveled, and the earth had split open, sending great cliffs rocketing towards the putrid-looking sky, and vast chasms plunging hungrily into the earth. She pulled her legs closer to herself as the earth shook again, shivering.

Something stirred in the ooze near her. She backed away, her eyes wide. Raleigh pulled himself free with a sickening squelch. He held a hand out to her, moaning.

"Velvet!" he gasped. "Help me!"

She shook her head, frightened. His shoulders shook as he coughed, horrible, retching noises, his back twisting beneath his armor. He looked up at her, a milky film spreading over his dark eyes, jaws lengthening, teeth growing long and sharp.

"_Velvet_," the thing rasped, dragging himself free of the sludge.

"Stay away!" she screamed, scuttling back.

The thing that had been Raleigh moaned, skin darkening, virulent blue bruises writhing and spreading under his skin. He reached out and grabbed her ankle with lengthening talons as she struggled, fingernails tearing at the rock.

"_Velvet,"_ he snarled again, and then he dragged her under the glutinous ooze.


	6. Chapter 6

_He'd come home exhausted and bleeding again, limping from an old wound._

_ Rose had chased the minions away and herded him up to their chambers. She'd settled him into a chair, had snapped at him when he'd protested. He was too stubborn for sense sometimes, she'd thought, angry with him._

_ "That's a nasty-looking bite_," _she'd said, as she'd cleaned and stitched a wound on his shoulder. "What happened?"_

_ He muttered something. She stared at him._

_ "I'm sorry, did you say 'pumpkins'?"_

_ "Some very angry pumpkins, yes. It was not...one of my finer moments."_

_ "You should be more careful," she'd said, her voice sharp. "If anything happened to you, what do you think I'd do?"_

_ "Carry on the way you always do, I expect."_

_ She'd glared at him, affronted, and then to their mutual surprise, she'd started to cry. She never cried, not even when Velvet had been at her most vicious. He'd taken her hands, startled._

_ "Rose? What's wrong?"_

_ "I..." She sniffed, wiping her cheeks on the back of her sleeve. "Well. I haven't had my cycle in two months, and..."_

_ "Oh?" His eyes widened as he realized what she meant. "Oh! Oh, Rose! You're...you're _pregnant!_"_

_ "I'm sorry, darling, I just didn't know how to tell you-"_

_ He'd scooped her up in his arms, so suddenly she'd squeaked, her medicine basket tumbling from her lap._

_ "Don't be! This is...this is...oh gods!"_

_ He'd spun her around and kissed her until she was breathless._

_ "We'll start a dynasty together," he'd said, excited as any child. "We'll build a new line, one that will rule this land for generations!"_

_ She hadn't had the heart to tell him what she was beginning to suspect- that she didn't want to raise her child to follow in his footsteps. Instead, she'd kissed him back, standing up on her tiptoes._

_ "A dynasty?" she'd asked him, raising an eyebrow. "That seems a little...grandiose, don't you think?"_

_ He'd laughed._

_ "Rose, I'm an Overlord. I don't know any other way to do things."_

_ "True," she'd admitted. "Very well, then, darling. We'll build your dynasty. Together."_

"Lady Rose, are you comfortable?" The farmer asked hesitantly.

She looked up from the swaying backs of his horses. She'd been lost in thought, lulled by the warm night air and the creaking of the cart.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Can I get anything for you, my lady?" he asked. "Something to drink, maybe? Some food?"

"I'm fine," she said again. "Thank you."

He blew out a breath, clucked to the horses.

"I just don't see why such a fine lady as yourself wanted my little cart, ma'am. A fine lady like yourself should be in a carriage."

She pulled the hood of the rough-spun cloak further over her eyes, glancing behind her. She was certain that Gnarl would have had her followed.

"Your cart suits my purposes perfectly. Don't worry. You'll be well rewarded."

"It's not the money I care about, ma'am." The farmer blushed. "The Master's wife deserves much better, is all."

"I'm not his-" Rose started to say, for the hundredth time.

The child within her gave a furious kick, and she doubled over with a gasp.

"Ma'am!" the farmer cried. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

The horses screamed, eyes rolling, as a brilliant light washed across the fields. The farmer looked back, gaping.

"What in all the heavens-"

Rose followed his gaze, for a second not sure of what she was seeing.

"Oh my gods," she said softly, shielding her eyes. "Is that the Tower Heart?"

The horses reared, plunging forward. The farmer cursed, wrestling with the reigns as they raced down the road, maddened. Rose clung grimly to the cart, teeth gritted. A terrific thunderclap shook the sky, shivering through the fields, stripping leaves from branches. The farmer looked back, and Rose followed his gaze.

Spree was burning, blue flames dancing through thatched roofs like foxfire. The buildings trembled as they watched, collapsing in on themselves with a rumble of stone and a creak of timber. Rose raised her eyes higher, watched the Tower crumble slowly. The vast crown tumbled end over end from the clifftops, limned with blue fire, landed with a deafening roar in the center of Spree.

"Oh, gods!" The farmer struggled to turn the horses. "My family's back there!"

One of the horses tripped, rolling with a sickening crunch of bone. The other horse screamed, going down, tangled in the traces of the cart. The cart lurched violently, teetering on two wheels, spilled them into the road. Rose curled protectively around her belly, hit the ground shoulder-first with an impact that jarred her teeth. She shook her head, dazed, slowly sat up.

"My lady!" The farmer stood, groaning, bleeding from a gash above his eye. "Are you alright?"

She laid a hand to her belly, felt the baby twisting inside her, quieting.

"Yes," she said, relieved. "We're alright."

He helped her to her feet.

"I have to go back to town, ma'am," the farmer said apologetically. "I've got to find my family. I'll come back for you once I know they're alright."

Rose looked up, squinting.

"What's that?"

The farmer looked up, gawking, then gasped and pushed her aside.

"Look out, my lady!"

Rose hit the ground for the second time that day, biting her tongue hard enough to draw blood. She looked up just as a viscous blue glob the size of a house whistled from the sky and swallowed the farmer whole. A few drops splattered her cloak, leaving smoking holes in their wake, burning her skin with chill fire. She backed away hurriedly, wiping the stuff off her skin. Her leg tingled where the ooze had touched it, but otherwise, she seemed unharmed.

She picked up her staff and levered herself painfully to her feet. She winced, stroking her belly.

"Shh," she whispered. "Shh, it's alright. It's alright, little one. We're alright."

There was no sign of the farmer. She bowed her head, suddenly feeling very weary. He'd been a loyal man, one of the few left in Spree who still served the Overlord.

The surface of the ooze bubbled. She looked up, startled. The farmer dragged himself out of the sludge, moaning.

"Oh, my gods!" She hurried to help him. "Are you alright?"

He looked up at her and hissed, eyes milky and white. She stumbled back with a yelp as he rose to a crouch, skin purpling, darkness spreading beneath the surface like a bruise. His shoulders hunched, and the bones of his fingers grew long and sharp. He opened his mouth, and needle-sharp teeth gleamed wetly as he snarled, lurching towards her.

"Stay back!" she snapped. "There's something wrong with you. You're sick. I can find a way to help you."

He lunged at her, and she closed her eyes and swung her staff, felt it connect with a sickening crack. The farmer staggered back, stumbling. She swung the staff down into the back of his skull as blue lightning crackled through her veins, hit him with an unnatural strength, wood tearing through skin and bone and brain. He collapsed, twitched once, and then was still. She leaned on her staff, panting.

"Was that you?" she asked, wondering, holding her belly. "I've never been able to do anything like that before."

The child only kicked in response.

Rose gathered what she could carry from the remains of the cart. She looked back once, and then looked ahead. What had once been rolling hills was now a blasted wasteland. Virulent blue pools shimmered, ooze dripping from stones and withered trees.

"Right," she whispered, swallowed hard. "There's no going back now."

She hitched up her pack and set off down the cracked and treacherous road.

-x- 

Florian woke to something warm and wet tickling his neck.

He opened his eyes blearily, smiling.

"Mmm," he muttered. "S'nice."

He rolled over, still half-asleep, and found himself face to face with an equally startled bear.

"Oh," he said. "Uh. Morning?"

The bear huffed, little eyes blinking as it tried to focus on him.

If he were magical, he thought, he'd just use the natural connection all other elves had with the beasts of the fields and forest to commune with the bear. Maybe, he thought, he could fake it.

He patted its snout gingerly.

"Nice bear," he said dubiously. "Good bear."

The bear snarled and swatted at him. He rolled away with a yelp.

"Goddess! Okay, okay,_ sorry_!"

The bear roared and charged at him. He scrambled out of the cave, swearing, tumbled down the slope. He picked himself up gingerly, brushing withered grass from his tunic.

He had his scimitar, he thought, and his belt pouch, but he'd left his pack, with all his spoils, in the bear's den. He eyed it warily, trying to decide whether or not to risk going back for it.

The bear dragged his pack out into the sickly sunlight and ripped into it, worrying it back and forth like a carcass. Florian threw up his hands, fed up.

"Fine!" he snapped. "Fine, take it! Everyone knows how much fucking bears need gold and gems, after all!"

The bear just huffed at him, head swaying. He backed up hastily.

"Okay, I get the picture," he snapped. "I'm going, I'm going."

Florian walked away as quickly as he dared, risking a glance over his shoulder every few seconds, stumbling over the uneven ground. The bear watched him until he disappeared behind a hill. He breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned as his stomach made a noise of complaint.

He hadn't had anything to eat since Rose's poisoned tea. He could kill, he thought, for a roast yam. As if on cue, the smell of a campfire wafted towards him on the grit-laden breeze. He grinned and followed the smell, loosening his scimitar in its scabbard.

Maybe, he thought, whoever was cooking would be willing to share. If not, he thought, he wasn't above...convincing them.

"Stay back," he heard a woman snap. "I'm warning you."

That voice, he thought, was awfully familiar.

He poked his head above a ridge. Rose was standing with her back pressed against a sheer rock wall, swinging a flimsy-looking walking staff clumsily, hampered by her belly. _Monsters_ ringed her, horrible, reptilian things much taller than a man.

"Ah, shit," he muttered.

He ducked back behind the ridge, conflicted. He'd be the first to admit he was a coward, and honestly, a bit of an asshole, but even he couldn't leave a pregnant woman to be torn apart by _things_...not even if that woman happened to be Rose.

He heard her scream, drew his scimitar and leaped reluctantly down beside her. She started.

"_Florian_?"

"Thanks for letting me out, lady," he snapped.

"I think we have much bigger problems at the moment, don't you?"

He swallowed hard, staring up at the creatures.

"Much, _much_ bigger problems, yeah."

"On your left!" she snapped.

The stick lashed out like a school teacher's ruler, cracked one of the things hard across the nose. It lurched back, growling.

"Shit!"

He ducked as one of the things swung at him, buried his sword to the hilt in its side. It reared back, black blood splattering him. He had the feeling he'd only made it angry.

"What are these things?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure, but they're strong, whatever they are!" She nodded at her campfire, her face drawn. "Look, they're staying away from the fire. I don't think they like it much!"

"So?" He narrowly dodged a claw. "How does that help us?"

She gave him an exasperated look.

"If you can get to the fire, maybe you can grab a brand, and use it to scare them away!" She gasped, whitening as a claw slashed her shoulder, slapped it angrily away. "Stop that!"

"What about you?"

"I can handle myself for a few moments, thank you! I'll distract them!"

He could see no other way to get out of this. The things were much bigger than he was, and much stronger. He nodded to her, then broke between two of the things, pelting towards the fire.

Their heads turned to follow him. Rose's staff lashed out, slapping them both in the face.

"Excuse me!" she snapped. "Eyes over here, please!"

Their heads snapped towards her, startled. She rapped the third across the knuckles as it reached for her, snarling.

"Don't you dare," she snapped. "Behave yourselves, or I'm afraid I'll have to hurt you."

For an instant, they were too startled to attack. Then one growled and lunged towards her, knocking her back against the wall. She glared at it, jabbing her stick under its chin.

"What did I just tell you?" she demanded. "Have you no _manners_?"

Florian scooped up a burning brand, thrust it into the back of one of the creatures. It whirled, howling, slapped the brand from his hands. He stared up at it, knowing he was going to die-

There was a brilliant blue flash, and the fire from the brand leaped out, tearing its way down the throats of the monsters. They howled and thrashed, bodies twisting as the fire roasted them from the inside out.

"Well." Rose sat down by the fire, arranging her skirts. "That takes care of that."

Florian gaped at her.

"Did you do that?" he asked her.

"Ah..." She hesitated, bandaging her shoulder with the brisk ease of long practice. For the first time he'd known her, she looked uncertain. "I think we did, actually. The baby and me."

He shook his head, staring at her.

"You're one spooky bitch, lady."

"Thank you." She patted the log next to her. "Sit. Fancy some leg of lamb? Or would you prefer roast minion?"

"Roast _minion_?" He looked at the monsters, startled. "Is that was those things were?"

"I think so, yes. This ooze has an unfortunate effect on living things. I wouldn't suggest touching it."

"No," he agreed faintly.

"Here." She broke off a piece of bread and offered it to him, arcing an eyebrow when he just stared at her. "You must be hungry. I promise you, I haven't drugged it."

He took it warily. She began cutting up the lamb. She was, he observed, quite worryingly good with a knife.

"If we're going to be traveling together, we're going to have to trust each other."

"What makes me think we're going to be traveling together?" he asked her.

She smiled.

"Do you have any idea where you're going, elf? Evernight has been destroyed- and it was a ruin, to begin with."

"I..." he hesitated.

"I have friends in a land far across the ocean. They call themselves the 'empire', even though they're really nothing more than a tiny little nation." She laughed a little. "They can take us in, until we figure out what to do." She smiled at him, handing him a bit of lamb on a plate she'd managed to magic up from somewhere. "And besides. I could really use your help."

"Alright," he said slowly. "Alright, I'll trust you, Mistress Rose."

She was right, he thought, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He had no idea where he would go without her, and he was beginning to suspect he'd have a better chance of making it through the ruined land with her help. And the 'empire', whatever it was, sounded like as good a place as any to disappear.


End file.
